Darren Sanicki

Darren completed his law degree with honours at Monash University in 2003 and has also completed post graduate courses in copyright law, trade marks, intellectual property, and industrial designs. Darren also holds a Bachelor of Economics degree from Latrobe University.

Darren’s legal career was forged at Marshalls & Dent Lawyers where he worked in areas including: residential and commercial conveyancing, business sales and acquisitions, commercial leases, corporate restructuring, and civil litigation. He was made a senior associate after three years.

As a one-time musician, Darren used his networks in Melbourne’s music scene, to commence and expand his music and entertainment client base while continuing to work in areas of commercial and property law.

Since opening the firm in 2009 (originally Darren Sanicki Lawyers), Darren has consolidated a substantial entertainment industry client base representing some of Australia’s best known bands, artists and creative businesses.

Darren has been selected by the Artists from The Voice for all 5 Seasons as their legal representative having previously represented contestants from X-Factor and Australian Idol. He has represented clients in high profile litigious matters including the current Federal Court Case concerning a legend of the Australian music scene and the fixing of a statutory licence for use of an iconic song for the services of the Commonwealth. Darren also successfully represented Michael Barker (Split Enz) in a defamation action against News Ltd and Today Tonight.

Darren also volunteers his services as a pro-bono solicitor for the Arts Law Centre of Australia and is a 3 time recipient of the Arts Law Pro Bono award.

Darren is a board member of The Push, a not-for profit Government funded Victorian youth music organisation, and has held the role of Chairman since 2007. In 2010, Darren was a founding board member of Music Victoria, Victoria’s peak contemporary music industry body, leading the fight to preserve the Victoria’s live music scene and the general rights and well being of musicians. Darren has also taught in the Music Business and Music Law degrees at Victoria University.

Notwithstanding any of this, Darren is still best known for having a song he co-penned, “More Than A Game” used as the theme song for Channel 9’s The Footy Show for the past 23 years!

Paul O'Gorman

Notwithstanding that Paul completed his law degree in 1975, he was a full time performer / recording artist /songwriter for more than a decade during the 70’s and 80’s. He recorded with Festival Records, released a couple of albums and singles, toured with the likes of Cliff Richard, wrote songs for local and international artists, and generally “lived the life”.

Paul’s career took a turn in the mid 80’s when he was asked to join Fable Music as a publisher where he successfully pitched songs to John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite and many international artists who recorded songs pitched by Paul from the Fable catalogue.

In the early 90’s, Paul managed Tommy Emmanuel, The Badloves, Debra Byrne and Russell Morris and also during that time managed Paul Dainty’s publishing company Marble Music.

Paul returned to law practice in the mid 1990’s and has since acted as legal adviser in the entertainment industry to a variety of the major and independent bands and performers, producers, songwriters and record labels in Australia ranging from, Tex Perkins, Havana Brown, Ella Hooper, Megan Washington, Nathaniel, and British India to Russell Morris, Renee Geyer, Daryl Braithwaite, James Reyne and many others.

Moira McKenzie

Moira completed a Bachelor of Contemporary Music and Bachelor of Laws at Southern Cross University and was admitted to practice in 2010. Moira joined Sanicki Lawyers in 2011.

Moira practices primarily in entertainment and intellectual property law and represents some of Australia’s best known artists in the music industry. Moira also acts for artist managers, indie record labels, producers, music festivals, and other music industry businesses.

With expertise in the area of Trade Marks law, Moira maintains the local and international Trade Mark portfolios for a number of high profile commercial and entertainment clients.

Moira also has a keen interest in the areas of design and technology, representing game developers, web designers and web-based start-ups.

Moira has sat on the Board of Music Victoria and regularly volunteers her time as a pro-bono lawyer for Arts Law Centre of Australia, The Push, Bigsound and Face the Music. In 2014 and 2016, Moira was awarded a Pro-Bono Lawyer Award from the Arts Law Centre.

Maddalena Rinaldi

Maddalena completed a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Media Studies at La Trobe University in 2014, before being admitted to practice in 2015.

Maddalena commenced with the firm in 2015 and practices primarily in commercial and property law, representing individuals, small businesses and commercial agents. She has overseen a number of residential and commercial property transactions including: commercial leasing, sale of business and complex commercial restructures.

Maddalena also has experience drafting and advising on a range of commercial contracts including: partnership and shareholders agreements, and the preparation and filing of Trade Mark applications.

Maddalena has a keen interest in media and entertainment law, and volunteers her time as a pro-bono lawyer for Arts Law Centre of Australia.

Having previously worked for Network Ten, Maddalena has a strong understanding of the legal issues that arise in the context of television and the broader media industry. This combination of legal skills and industry knowledge enables her to identify the risks facing clients before providing practical advice to her clients.

Frank Ng

Frank commenced working with the firm in 2016. He was admitted to practice laws in 2005.

He initially commenced his career working in-house for an Australian multinational as corporate legal counsel. Later, Frank diversified his practice into other areas, whilst maintaining his focus on commercial & property law, dispute resolution, and business skills migration (MARN 138 4185).

Prior to a career in law, Frank worked primarily with multi-nationals and listed companies in China, Hong Kong, and Australia in project and supply chain management. Frank completed a number of postgraduate degrees including Juris Doctor and Master of Laws (Monash University), Master of Taxation (Melbourne University) and Master of Commerce (Deakin University).

Frank is married with 2 children, enjoys travelling, and speaks Mandarin and Cantonese.

Emily Edington

Emily completed a Bachelor of Laws and Bachelor of Media Studies at La Trobe University in 2013.

Commencing at Sanicki Lawyers as an intern in 2016, Emily soon accepted a position as a paralegal. She has recently been admitted to practice in November 2016.

Emily has an impressive and varied range of commercial experience having recently worked and lived in Canada for two years. In Vancouver, Emily was employed at Microsoft Development Studio where she worked with a diverse team including; Gears of War for Xbox, NFL on Xbox One app, Skype for Business, OneNote, Bing and MSN.

Emily also worked for CBRE, one of the world’s largest commercial real estate services firms.

Since commencing at the firm, Emily has gained experience in all aspects of residential and commercial conveyancing, commercial leases, and the drafting and filing of Court documents. She thrives on the commercial aspects of business transactions and prides herself on her exceptional client service and practical advice.

In her spare time, Emily enjoys drinking pina coladas and getting caught in the rain!

Alli Berry

Alli commenced at Sanicki Lawyers as administration manager in 2016, after completing a successful internship earlier in the year.

Alli is charged with the responsibility of keeping the office running smoothly, the solicitors sane, and being the first port of call for all visitors to the firm.

Alli has recently completed a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Criminology, and in 2017 will be commencing her Juris Doctor at the University of Melbourne. As a budding law student, Allie enjoys assisting the solicitors in research, drafting and preparation of Court documents.

Alli is also a lover of all things music and is a successful graduate of The Push mentoring program,